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Merlin
Archmage Merlin (멀린 Meollin) is the Grand Administrator of Britain and is one of the only men to have a mana source, the other being Tasha but he is the only person that obtained it artificially. He has exceptional control over mana, making him strong enough for South to be wary of him and is currently the regent governing over Britain and its affairs. Appearance Merlin is a feminine male with a slender build. He has long white hair that goes down past his hips. Merlin wears a blue long sleeved jacket that ends at the middle of his chest with a long, white robe under it. He equips a thin belt around his waist attached to a sword. He is often mistaken to be a woman by others due to his feminine looks. Personality Merlin is capable of reading people's emotions and intentions well, using this proficiency to manipulate people into doing what he wants. He was able to persuade South to retreat and told Tania Doberg that he would reveal the location of one of the Four Great Witches' castles, which she admits would "make the high officials jump off their chair". He is exceptionally loyal to Camelot and his king, willing to betray his allies for his country, although he will only appear if the King of Britain is present, unless the royalty has been taken by force. It was Merlin who noted to Tasha that he couldn't oppose his plans while remaining a WH. It is possible Tasha's subsequent defection from the organization is a part of Merlin's hidden plans for Mordred, using him to manipulate the WHs. Story History Merlin was born 586 years ago on the day Britain was first formed. In his early years, Merlin modified his body by feminizing it so he could gain a mana source. Later on he was able to produce mana and has stopped aging ever since then. Over the next hundred years, Merlin self taught himself to control mana until he finally mastered the art. A long time ago, Merlin made a non-combat pact with the Four Great Witches to prevent them from interfering within the city Caerleon Castle was located in. Sometime before his disappearance, Merlin devised a test for Mordred to win the support of the Knights of the Round, who opposed her ascension to King of Britain. This planned involved a duel between Mordred and West, thought of then to be the most powerful witch in history. Merlin indicates to Tasha Godspell that he greatly underestimated West's power, leading to Mordred's defeat. He left Britain when Arthur died since he didn't have any king to serve under. The Other Magic Marksman Arc He was first mentioned by Diana Basil for Tasha to approach to power up Halloween with a sword that will restore her former powers. This sword may be the legendary Excalibur. Fights in Britannia Arc When South fires an attack at Cougar, Merlin stands in front of him and redirects the attack to another area. South notices this and his presence but questions if he diverted her attack. Cougar wonders about his identity and how he reflected South's blast. Calia is bewildered by what happened but South explains that she was countered by her own power since they were in his magic circle which gave him the power to control any witches' powers within it and was the whole city. Calia is even more baffled by this since even high ranking witches aren't capable of such a feat but South states that he was an archmage for a reason. South tells him that his interference in her business bothers her and threatens to kill him while exerting pressure. Cougar is suffocated by this atmosphere but Merlin calms him down which allows him to breathe again and tells him to wait a moment since he'll finish this up soon. South questions if he really meant "soon" but Merlin reminds her of his agreement with the witches that the area was under his jurisdiction and that they agreed not to interfere in his territory. South is stupefied momentarily and admits that she's sure they made the agreement but asks why should she keep the promise. Merlin shows his trust in her since she's one of the Four Great Witches and adds that he was certain she didn't come here to wreck havoc. South bursts into laughter and agrees to retreat while praising his silver tongue but reminds him that the agreement won't be effective forever. Soon after, Merlin meets a heavily injured Sir Kay who demands for the reason he came back. Kay recounts how he left as soon as Arthur was killed and taunts him for having the guts to come back. Merlin spouts how stupid his question was but reveals that he went away since he didn't have a king to serve but he returned now and asks Kay what he thought that meant. Kay realizes the reason why and Merlin confirms this, stating that their king has returned. Merlin requested Tania's audience as she was a representative of the WHs and she accepts. The meeting starts off with Merlin telling her how she flattered him with her presence. Tania admits that she's a busy woman but she couldn't possibly refuse Merlin. Tania bluntly asks him what he wanted to say and Merlin notes how straight to the point she was but decided to skip the banter. He tells her he was hoping for her to summon the high officials of Central WH for a meeting. She acknowledges that S-Class WHs can summon a meeting with Central but they won't come unless it's an emergency. Merlin tells her that they will come since he's going to reveal the location of the Four Great Witches' Castles. She agrees that would be more than enough to make Central jump out of their chair but she asks what he wanted in exchange. He asks what she meant by exchange but Tania tells him not to play dumb since he didn't need Central to inform them of the castles' locations. She repeats her question which makes Merlin speechless for a while but he continues by complimenting how she didn't disappoint her reputation and that unlike normal people, she didn't freak out when she heard the "Four Great Witches". Tania tells him to praise her till his heart's content which leaves him out of words again. He reveals what he wanted was simply Mordred, Tasha's supporter. Two days after when Tasha was in a dining hall asking himself if he really had a mana source, Merlin overheard the question and confirms with certainty that he had one while walking towards is table. Tasha asks who he was which made Merlin realizes his bad manners but he tells him his name. Merlin asks if he was willing to share a table and Tasha politely gestures to him to sit. Merlin asks him how his arm was doing while repeating how he heard it was reattached and Tasha replies it's fine thanks to Patricia but it still has a while to heal. Tasha asks if he can see the mana source and the flowing mana within his body and Merlin confirms this while complimenting the sheer amount of it which was incomparable to Merlin's inferior one. Merlin wonders why the witches from his organization haven't detected his mana source yet. Tasha admits that he only found out about it two days ago which was enough information for Merlin to deduct that Tasha recently awakened his powers. Tasha repeats the word "awakened" and Merlin questions if his body felt strange to him over the last couple days such as sudden surges in power or instant recovery. Tasha curses due to his hope of it being a dream becoming wrong, which made Merlin comment on how his guesses were right. In a serious fashion, Tasha asks if there was any other male who underwent the same predicament and Merlin answers that there was only one other. He reveals that they share a common fate since the only other person is him. Tasha is startled when he realizes Merlin is a man which causes Merlin to formally introduce himself as the only man on Earth capable of casting magic, the Wizard Merlin.Cho, Jung-man (2010). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 10: Chapter 50: Page 31. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-6029-7 He admits that he does look special but he is still definitely a man. Tasha is horrified when he asks if his body was going to change as well but Merlin reassures him by revealing his body was like that before he started producing mana and that he did it to himself so he could gain a mana source. Curious about Tasha's body, he asks how he managed to gain a mana source without modifying his body and if he would let him examine his body in detail since he may be able to find out the cause of this. Tasha agrees to this since he was curious himself and he attempts to ask another question but he was interrupted by a messenger who told him Central had arrived. Merlin gets up and tells Tasha he needs to leave since they arrived. Merlin stands in the middle of a court room where the WHs meeting was held. Central asks Merlin if he really was revealing the location of the Great Witches' Castles since it will end the war sooner than they would've hoped but he questions the authenticity of the information. Central questions further how he knew the castle's locations but Merlin just smiles and reveals that his knowledge didn't end there because he also knew where the four WH Central HQs were. Central is surprised by this and demands how that was possible but Merlin warns Central not to underestimate the Great Sage, wisest of all men. He asks Central how old did he look like but reveals that his appearance is deceptive since he's exactly 586 years old and was born on the day the Kingdom of Britain was founded and infiltrating an organization that hasn't been around for a century is more than easy for him. He notes how some of the audience may have noticed that he stopped aging long ago when he first began producing mana and that throughout his life, he was close to the Four Great Witches when the WH religion didn't exist yet and the two races lived in harmony. He states that he is still on good terms with the witches which is the reason he hasn't taken part in the war yet. Central asks why he decided to betray the witches but Merlin reveals that it was time for him to act due to the heir to the throne returning who was missing for the past few years but now she's Tasha's supporter. As the judge, Central had the high ranking WHs vote which ended it being 2 to 1 in Merlin's favor. Tasha meets Merlin in his quarters and questions what his objective is. Merlin asks back what he meant by that and states he doesn't know what he meant. Tasha grills him on why he wanted him to give up his supporter but he merely states that he wanted his king returned. Tasha dismisses, growling that it was them who banished Mordred and it's absurd how they're trying to take her back. Merlin doesn't talk back and Tasha reminds him that he possesses part of Mordred's memories. Merlin observes how Tasha talks as if he knew the whole truth even though he's only seen fragments and comments how he's displeased by this. Merlin reveals that Mordred was never banished, but she was tested to prove that she was worthy of being king. Tasha notes how Merlin sugar coated his words since pitting Mordred against West was much worse than a "test". Tasha asks why Merlin didn't just tell her to die, although Merlin admits that he made a painful mistake but at the time the Knights of the Round Table weren't willing to accept her and he believed Mordred needed to prove herself to persuade them. He continues that he thought of the duel against West but he didn't realize West was so powerful but he won't make the same mistake again because the Knights of the Round Table who didn't acknowledge her has almost all died in the war against the witches and Sir Kay will eventually pledge allegiance to her. He summarizes this by telling Tasha only he opposed Mordred becoming King of Britain and although he isn't able to find out how Mordred came to be Tasha's supporter, he tells Tasha that he won't be able to go against direct orders from his main HQs as long as he's a WH. He gives Tasha an incentive for taking the deal, since he knew the importance of his supporter. Merlin lifts the contents of his drink without touching it and offers to instruct him how to control mana which was something only he can teach him. He tells him that even his latent powers could enhance his physical abilities, but if one could control mana freely, making water harder than steel would be a simple task. Tasha admits that the offer was interesting but he could just learn from a witch. Merlin chuckles and asks him if he could teach someone to breath since witches control over mana is as natural as breathing, they can immediately figure out how mana works and be able to control it.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2012). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 13: Chapter 73: Page 21. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-9545-9 He reveals that it would be impossible for witches to teach a person like him who can't control their mana but only he can since he was once in the same position. Merlin tells Tasha how large a task it is to learn the basics and master mana control because it took him 100 years to do so, which surprises Tasha. Merlin calculates that if Tasha learns from him, he'll be ten times stronger than he is now which is stronger than S-Class standards and all this in a month. He asks Tasha what he thinks of this offer which should be worth giving up his supporter. Tasha walks away from this due to not believing what Merlin said but Merlin recommends him to give up since worrying won't change anything. Escape from Britain Arc After Tasha escaped with East, the A-Class WHs were under attack by Varete, but Merlin managed to save the WHs by convincing Varete to leave. Although some of the WHs protest, Merlin tells them that Varete was not responsible for Tasha's disappearance, then forbids acts of aggression from either group. Merlin set up a new agreement with various conditions with the WHs. He later reveals that his motive was to capture the Four Legendary Witches' hats, which will give Camelot a massive boost in strength. Invasion Arc After the meeting of the S-Class WHs and the formation of the teams that would attack North's and South's castles, it is revealed that Merlin had a hand in selecting who would be on which team in order to "be able to inflict and suffer great casualties." He then sends letters to the three remaining Legendary Witches to inform them of the oncoming attack after consulting with Sir Kay and Sir Gawain, ordering the two to kill all witches and WH invading. Powers and Abilities Overall Strength assumption: His power can be assumed as greater than an S-Class WH for Varete and South were wary of him in the kingdom of Britain (Varete to Merlin: "If it's you I'm sure you'd make a formidable opponent"). However it is said that his power is greater (or more effective) within his Magic Circle (the whole city) because he can use the own power of Witches against them as shown with South. Mana Source (마력의 원천 Malyeog-ui Woncheon): Artificially attained, Merlin modified his body in order to have one. Merlin is capable of using this mana in spells although his source is greatly inferior to Tasha's source (Merlin to Tasha: "My source can't even come close to yours"). His mana source is probably a great one. *'Enhanced Speed': Merlin is capable of moving extremely quickly thanks to his mana. He was shown to appear out of nowhere when he deflected South's attack.Cho, Jung-man (2010). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 10: Chapter 49: Page 19. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-6029-7 *'Enhanced Strength': The wizard can have sudden or controlled surges of strength thanks to the mana incorporating into their body. One of the first signs of a wizards awakening, Merlin probably recognizes it due to it happening to himself. *'Enhanced Durability': By reinforcing their body with mana, wizards are able to withstand attacks ordinary humans aren't able to. *'Instant Recovery': Wounds simply disappear thanks to the mana that fixes up the body. This was first experienced by Merlin soon after he awakened. He recognized Tasha's awakening signs which meant the same thing happened to himself since he's the only other wizard that has ever existed. Mana Manipulation: Merlin has learnt and mastered the basics of control over mana, which took 100 years. His mastery of mana even far exceeds high ranking witches.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2012). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 13: Chapter 73: Page 22. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-9545-9 *'Telekinesis': Merlin is capable of lifting objects with his mana. he shows this when he lifted his drink up and molded it into his desired shape.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2012). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 13: Chapter 73: Page 20. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-9545-9 *'Strengthening': He can strengthen water to be harder than steel, although this has been noted to be an easy task by Merlin. Mana Storage: By feminizing his body, Merlin is able to store large amounts of mana within himself without the aid of a witch hat. Large Scale Magic Circle: He has shown great skill in manipulating a magic circle made up of Caerleon, a feat even high ranked witches can't do. Merlin managed to deflect a large-scale attack sent by South using her own power with this.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2010). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 10: Chapter 49: Page 20. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-6029-7 *'Mana Control': Merlin is able to control all witches' powers within his magic circle and can even deflect an attack from a Great Witch using their strength against them or stop the mana flow from Varete.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2012). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 14: Chapter 78: Page 29. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-6181-2 Such a feat is said to be impossible for even a high ranking witch. Perception: Merlin gained the ability to see the flow of mana through training. Keen Intellect: Merlin is one of the smartest individuals revealed in the series. He is capable of planning elaborate plans and manipulating people without others knowing. Equipment Sword: Merlin wields a thin sword reminiscent of an Irish Gallowglass sword. It is unknown if the sword serves any purpose such as channeling his mana, or if it is simply decorative. Relationships Four Great Witches Merlin and the Four Great Witches were on good terms. They formed a contract so that they won't attack Britain and they trusted Merlin, knowing he knew of their castle's locations. Even after Merlin told WH of their castles' locations, Merlin sent letters to them, warning them of the upcoming attacks. At the time Merlin wants North's and South's hats but made the dispatch so that both the WH and the Great Witches will inflict major damage upon each other. Mordred Merlin respects Mordred's birthright as the next King of Britain. After disappearing, he only came back once Mordred set foot in Britain again and a major factor to his elaborate plan is to prevent Mordred's history from repeating. Trivia *Merlin is the second character who has managed to convince South before, the other being Peony. Both of them are the only characters known to be good speakers. *Although modifications on the human body isn't uncommon, Merlin's feminization is by far the greatest change currently seen in the series. *In a omake, the Unnamed Team and Cougar were excited to see Merlin appear but when they found out he was a male, they didn't care anymore.Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2010). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 10: Chapter 50: Omake. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-6029-7 *There has been a lot of mix up between Merlin's two titles Archmage (대마법사) and Great Sage (대현자). Archmage is a title which combines the great prefix (대) with wizard (마법사) and has only been mentioned once by South but Merlin has been noted as a wizard. Great Sage is his proper title since it has been many more times.Cho, Jung-man (2012). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 14: Chapter 80: Page 11. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-6181-2 References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Britain Category:Wizard Category:Adversaries